Page 41 - Effective healthcare cost containment policies Using the Netherlands as a case study - Niek W. Stadhouders

Policy options to contain healthcare costs: a review and classification
12 Capacity controls Capacity controls limit the capacity to perform treatments or to limit take-in of new
patients. This includes restrictions on the number of providers or the size and
capacity of providers.
13 Access control Policies designed to control or restrict patients’ physical (non-monetary) access to
care.
14 Labor restrictions Reduce or restrict the health care labor force (e.g. nurses or medical specialists)
15 Cost sharing Cost sharing does not directly influence the full price, but increases the share of the price patients pay. Patients respond by demanding lower volumes, which makes this
policy a patient side volume control policy.
16 Benefit package Policies aiming to restrict or reduce the specific care covered by insurance. This is a
special case of increasing copayments for specific procedures to 100% private
payment.
17 Prevention Policies encouraging prevention programs in order to prevent people from becoming
ill and making use of health care
18 New technology All policies designed to prevent the emergence and adaptation of novel treatments,
control medicines or medical devices.
19 Patient Policies designed to increase the role of the patient within the care system when it
empowerment comes to selecting treatment options.
20 Third party payer Policies aimed to alter the type of insurers/carriers/purchasers active in the market.
structure
21 Provider structure Policies altering the provider setting in a market, changing the setting in which a
treatment takes place or promoting a different mix of providers.
22 Government level Policies that alter the level of decision making of the government in health care. The
level of government decision making varies from local community autonomy to
centralized government decision making.
23 Responsibility Policies that alter market structure by redefining tasks and responsibilities between
redefinition health providers.
24 Antitrust policy Policies that prevent cartels, control mergers and safeguard competition
25 Ownership Policies promoting to change the legal ownership of health providers or insurers are
placed in this category.
26 Risk Policies that change distribution of risks between providers and payers in the health
redistribution market.
27 Payment reform Policies that alter the provider payment system or promote certain payment
structures are placed within this category.
28 Competition Policies that promote provider and insurer competition are placed in this category
29 Prospective Policies promoting predetermined payments as opposed to retrospective payments
payments fall under this category
30 Coordination Policies that promote more coordination between providers
31 Contracting Policies aimed to alter market conduct by altering insurer contracts or provider
contracts
32 Consumer choice Policies promoting consumer choice of insurance
33 Patient choice Policies promoting patient choice of providers
34 Health IT Policies aimed to promote the use of IT in health care
35 Tort reform Policies that aim to reduce health costs by altering the medical liability legislation
36 Administration Policies aimed to reduce the administrative burden, for example by reducing or
simplifying administrative requirements
37 Management Policies that aim to improve the performance of provider management through
manager incentivation or management process control
38 Information Policies that provide information to patients and providers
39 Reduce waste Policies aimed to reduce excess waste and inefficiency in health care given the volume of treatments. The policies aim to lower costs by cutting those things that do
not contribute to the value of treatments 40 Reduce fraud Policies aimed to reduce fraud and abuse
41 Innovation Policies that promote cost-saving (process) innovations and reduce the cost of innovations through patent policy.
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